This invention relates to a protective helmet, particularly for drivers of motor-driven two-wheeled vehicles, comprising a helmet shell having front and chin parts, a window opening provided therein, and a visor of transparent material movably connected with the helmet shell for closing and opening the window.
In known protective helmets of this kind, the visor is pivotally mounted on the outside of the helmet shell. The visor is ordinarily made of transparent flexible flat material and is curved so as to conform to some extent to the curvature of the helmet. With this arrangement, the closing operation of the visor is complicated and time consuming because in order to provide a seal between the visor and the helmet shell, additional fastening elements, such as press-studs, have to be operated and these are liable to fail and frequently do not function. The latter shortcoming is generally due to the fact that the curved visor becomes distorted. Consequently, it takes some time before the driver, usually a motorcyclist, is ready to ride off. Furthermore, there is no certainty that the visor will remain continuously in the open position, because it tends to drop to its lower closed position spontaneously. Furthermore, even at a moderate road speed, it is dangerous to open the visor because air pressure will build up between the helmet shell and the visor projecting from the latter, so that the helmet will be torn off in the rearward direction. Finally, with known protective helmets of the kind in question, a half-open position of the visor, which is necessary to prevent the visor from fogging up while at the same time providing protection for the eyes, is not possible.
The problem of the invention is therefore remedying the shortcomings mentioned above and providing a protective helmet having a visor which is reliably guided, does not give rise to air pressure when opened, and can be operated easily and rapidly, while at the same time providing good sealing in the closed position.
According to the invention, this problem is solved by pivotally mounting the visor inside the helmet shell so that at least when in the open position, the visor is partly covered by parts of the helmet shell both on the inside and on the outside.